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Once you’ve secured your truck and trailer leasing, driving a truck for a living is not as simple as just hopping in and taking the wheel. Truck driving is a physically and emotionally demanding job and lasting in the industry means developing a set of skills that will serve you well and allow you to excel. If you are thinking about applying for truck and trailer leasing so that you can get into the trucking industry, below are three essential skills that all truck drivers should have.

Reliability And responsibility

This is not so much a skill, but a quality. Being a commercial truck driver means that people are going to be entrusting you with their cargo on a regular basis. You will be asked to drive, often long distances, sometimes in hazardous conditions in order to get things from point A to B. Being able to set the terms of a delivery, stick to them, all while driving responsibly, is something that takes not only skill, but dedication and commitment.

Map Reading

While things like modern GPS and other electronic navigation tools have made driving pretty easy, there are still going to be instances in your career where you will need to know how to read a map and navigate expertly. This includes figuring out where there are roads where commercial trucks are not permitted, and being able to read complicated, traditional maps in areas where their GPS might not be overly familiar.

Self Motivation

When you are out on the road driving a truck, there is no boss breathing down your neck, micromanaging your every move, making sure that you are doing what you are supposed to be doing. This is even more true if you are a freelancer and work for yourself. How successful you will be depends almost entirely on you and your motivation. Unmotivated, non self-starters frequently struggle in the commercial trucking industry. This is also one of the things that truck and trailer leasing companies want to be sure of before they lend you any money. If you turn out to be an unmotivated driver, you might not be able to make your payments on your loan or lease.

Driving a truck is not for everyone. It takes a special breed of person to be able to handle the hours, the isolation and the stress and to be able to convince themselves to do what they need to do to do the job well. If you are thinking about a career in truck driving and want to know what it takes, keep the above essential truck driving skills in mind.